This year is an exciting year for Canadian powerlifting. At the CPU National Championships, March 31-April 5, we have the largest number of lifters ever to compete at this level, with over 300 athletes, representing 10 provinces. A couple of respected lifters and coaches have posted about the “fight cards” within each class, trying to bring excitement to each category and analyzing potential outcomes. However, those previous line-ups ignored a few prominent athletes, as well as some underdog stories that will, no doubt, shock the country. So, here are my thoughts about the upcoming National Championships.

Part Two: The Boys

James Bartlett

Classic Division The week starts with some good ol’ fashion classic lifting. Each class runs deep; there are at least seven lifters in every Open class, and sometimes more in the Sub-Junior and Junior categories. The 66k class is filled with many first-time National athletes, mostly lifting in the Sub-Junior and Junior categories. One of these young men to watch out for is Daniel Remulla from Ontario, who has totaled 550k. With a 439 Wilks, that places him 9th all-time in the Junior rankings and 29th all-time in the Open rankings. Also worth mentioning, the current National record in his Junior class is 492.5k, so I have no doubt that he will be rewriting the record books next week. In the 74k class, there are some clear favorites to win the Junior and Open Class. In the Juniors, Josh Hancott from Newfoundland has set the bar high with a 652.5k total. In the Open, Kojo Gyennin from Alberta is coming off a sexy performance from the Arnold Sports Festival one month ago, totaling 677.5k. These guys top the all-time classic rankings with Josh at #4 and Kojo at #2. Also in the 72k class is the one and only Joe Stockinger from Alberta. At 84 years old, Joe plans to throw a few World records on the bar, including at 200k deadlift. Say, what?

Joe Stockinger

The tightest battle of the entire Championships will probably happen in the 83k class. Connor Lutz from Saskatchewan and Mark Wasson from PEI are only separated by 2.5k going into this event. The one piece of bragging rights that Connor holds is that he recently broke the bench press Junior World Record in December, lifting 190k. Let’s not forget about the Masters in this class though. There is Sandro D’Angelo (M2) from Ontario and Ron Delaney from Novia Scotia (M3). Both of these gents competed at the IPF Master World Championships last year and reached the podium; Sandro pulled 265k for a deadlift silver medal; and Ron won the Gold medal in the squat, bench press, deadlift, and total. Now, Sandro and Ron are going to try their hand at lifting classic. Although Sandro is also lifting in the equipped division. The 93k class will be a battle of the East, with seven out of the eight competitors coming from Either Ontario or Quebec. The majority of the athletes in this class are highly experienced at the National level, but it should come down to who makes or misses their third attempts. The top three athletes going into the event are Jake Warrington (690k total), Daniel Schultz (685 total), and Vincent Byrne (677.5k total). Also noteworthy performances to watch are Kevin Weiss (M1) from BC who is a long-time competitor in the CPU, and places 4th on the all-time master rankings. As well as, Jerry Marentette (M3) from Ontario, who has been lifting since the 70s, has won almost every award in powerlifting, including being recently inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. The 105k class is deep, but here are where my biases start coming out. I have two athletes competing in the Open category, James Bartlett and Sebastian Lade. James has previously competed in the 120s, but now that he is a ripped 105er, he will break the National squat, deadlift, and total records in this class. It only seems fair that we take John Macdonald’s 105k records, since recently John Macdonald beat James’ 120k records. I’m still waiting for the day that these two guys meet in the same weight class, but since James got skinny and John got fat, it won’t happen this year. As for Sebastian, this is his first National experience, and we’re hoping for PRs across the board. Also in the 105s, you should watch for Leon Brown, one of Canada’s greatest raw benchers. He just recently broke the M1 World Record at the Arnold Sports Festival, lifting 210k.

Sebastian Lade

The 120k category will be a fight between John Macdonald (773k total) and Mark Giffen (767.5k total). Even though Mark is an M2 competitor, he has decided to register as an Open athlete to show that age doesn’t determine one’s physical capacity. If I know John though, he thrives under the pressure of stiff competition, so look to see a back and forth battle happening right through to the end. In the 120k+ class, Kelly Branton is returning to the National stage after a 5-year break. The extended rest must have been exactly what he needed, since he recently put up an 800lb raw squat. Kelly will be after the #1 all-time ranking next week. He will need to surpass Michael Sinclair’s 515 raw Wilks, achieved at the National Championships in 2012. Equipped Division There aren’t many equipped lifters in the lightweight men categories, but those who are competing are veteran lifters, including Glyn Moore (M3) from Ontario and Lewis Noppers (M1) from Alberta. Glyn is the meet director for this year’s National Championships, so I always have sympathy for those that choose to lift in the same event they host. On the other hand, Lewis recently won the gold medal at the 2013 Master World Championships, so his lifting should be an exciting performance to watch. In the 83k class, master lifter Tom Kean (M1), who ranks 3rd on the all-time Master rankings, will be the performance to spectate, especially if you want a lesson on perfect technique. There will also be Kain Lyon, the former Alberta Powerlifting Union president, competing in the Open class. In November he put up his first 500 Wilks, so I’m sure he’ll be at the top of his class on game day. The 93 open class brings a close battle with two Alberta athletes: Jon Stewart and Evan Dunn. Jon just recently competed at the Arnold Sports Festival, but unfortunately bombed out on the bench press. If he can put together a solid performance this week he will be the top guy to beat. That said, it could be anyone's game with Evan in the line-up. While he hasn’t competed in two years, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been hard at work. His training numbers as of lately have all been personal bests. So if he can get comfortable on the competition platform he will be making a run for the top spot. There are also some World class master lifters in the 93s, including Dave Walters, who is the strongest M1 lifter in the World based on Wilks.

The final day of competition sets the stage for the heavy weight men. My training partner, Mike Macdonald, will be defending his Best Overall Male Powerlifting award from last year. His Wilks currently places him 2nd on the all-time list. If you can only watch one of Mike’s lift, go for the bench press. He will be opening heavier than the National record. In the 120+k class, there is only one man to beat, and that’s Kelly Branton. Like many lifters, he has decided to lift in both the Classic and Equipped division. We just may see a 1000+k total from him on this day. Avi’s Picks for Overall Male Winners: Classic Powerlifting: Kelly Branton Classic Bench Press: Leon Brown Equipped Powerlifting: Kelly Branton Equipped Bench Press: Mike Armstrong